A Flash of the Blade
by Eldergi
Summary: Lillie encounters an Ultra Beast whilst on her island trials. Takes place after Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, rated T for violence and mentions of blood.
1. A Stab in the Dark

**Chapter 1: A Stab in the Dark**

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Lillie was horribly lost. She had decided against her better judgement in an attempt to cross a shortcut to make it to the island's motel, and now the heavens had opened, causing it to rain Littens and Lillipups. The wind had picked up too, quite violently too. And to top it all off, her PokéGear had run out of power. In her excitement to proceed to the next trial, she must have forgotten to recharge it. No PokéGear meant no map.

Not that it mattered anyway, she was certain that this shortcut wasn't on a map. She wasn't even sure what time it was, but she had assumed it was late, because the longer she stayed out here, the less she could see. _"I'm going to catch a cold for sure..."_ she thought to herself as she shivered. Part of her wanted to bring out her Bewear for warmth, but considering the strong armed bear's affectionate nature, she'd rather not risk adding sore back from loving bear-hugs to her list of predicaments at the moment.

Batting aside a drenched plant as it flailed in the wind, she noticed that she had come to a clearing. The Mountain guide hadn't mentioned this here, maybe she had taken a wrong turn? Her heartbeat increased in panic as it began to set in that she was well and truly lost, cold and drenched in the rain. Thoughts of doubt and despair began to cloud her mind as the situation truly set in. Maybe she wasn't meant to start her island trials?

Maybe she wasn't strong enough at all. Her Z-Powered form was just a facade, a veil, a disguise to hide her true, cowardly, weak self from the judgmental eyes of the world.

 **BOOOM!**

Lillie jumped in panic as the sky lit up with a brilliant flash of lightning, followed by a loud roar of thunder. She didn't mind storms but in times like this, it did not help the situation at all. She needed to find shelter, and fast. But could she? She was weak, and unable to do anything by herself.

No, she couldn't let these bad thoughts keep her self-esteem low. She was better than this. Steeling herself, she waited for another flash of lightning, not flinching this time, before spotting what looked like a rocky outcrop across the clearing. Maybe there was a cave there!

Wasting no time, she set off across the muddied and drenched plains, getting her white boots muddy, and occasionally stumbling, trying not to slip on the slimy ground. _"I can make it!"_

She was now able to make out the opening of a small cave entrance, nestled in the cliff face ahead, thoughts of relief momentarily flooding her head-

 **BOOOM!**

She was caught off guard by this thunderclap, as the lightning disoriented her, and she stumbled forward, just able to catch herself from a face full of mud by her hands. Great, now her hands were filthy. Looking up, it appears that she had made it to the cave. She sighed in relief as she got up, avoiding the instinct to dust herself off due to her hands, which were now sore, before making her way inside the dry shelter.

She failed to notice the unusual slash marks around the mouth of the cave.

Stumbling inside the cave, she had to blink her eyes, noticing it was darker in here than it was outside. It was almost eerie, there was no sound of a single Pokémon in the cave, in fact she was certain she hadn't seen any in the area for the past hour. However, she had an idea.

"Clefairy, I need your help!" she called as she threw a Pokéball out into the darkness. A brief flash of light later, and out popped the pink fairy, who also had to adjust her eyes to the darkness, before looking at Lillie with an inquisitive eye. She wasn't the only one however, from behind the cave, unbeknownst to both of them, a pair of sharp looking antennae poked out from an outcrop, curious.

"Clefairy, I need you to take a gamble here, and use Metronome!" Lillie commanded. The fairy type began to waggle her fingers whilst chanting her name, before both her fingers flickered alight with a small flame. Ember. Lillie sighed in relief again, she could see what she was doing now, but what greeted her was what she did not expect.

The cave's interior was decorated with multitudes of large slash marks, that seemed to have cut straight through the cave walls in some places. Even a few stalactites were shaved clean off the ceiling. A new unsettling feeling began to settle into Lillie as the worry that she had stumbled into a wild Pokémon's nest, and what ever Pokémon it was, it was a force to be reckoned with. But... where was it?

The strange being in the cave had ducked back behind the outcrop, now shivering in fear. It had encountered the strange orange glow before, and its kind did not like it. It was very frightening. Maybe if it stayed still, the girl would leave? It nervously scraped its strange blade-like limbs together, quietly.

Lillie heard this however, and she cautiously began to approach the outcrop. "H-Hello? Who's there...?" she called out before continuing. "If this is your home, i'm sorry for intruding, but I just want to stay here until the rain stops... If that's okay with you...?". She placed her hand on the outcrop, carefully peering over, before-

A high pitched screech of fear echoed throughout the cave, causing Lillie to jump back, and Clefairy to ready the ember attack. Something small, but fast, breezed its way over Lillie's face. She screamed in surprise and could even briefly see her own reflection in the strange creature's body, before realising that one of her locks of hair had been sheared off, as it fell from her head and onto the cave floor, she turned around in surprise as the creature floated down by the entrance.

Clefairy wasted no time in throwing the ember attack at whatever the being was, also feeling threatened by the being, It struck its mark, briefly illuminating the cave with a fiery glow, which once again reflected off the being. A pained screech was heard, and then another, as Clefairy fainted abruptly. Lillie did not respond however. She knew what this being was now, and she had made a terrible mistake in coming here.

Floating over the fainted body of Clefairy, with a smart strike attack beginning to fade from it's bladed limbs, was a small, but incredibly dangerous ultra beast.

A Kartana.

The beast trembled as if frightened, not unlike Lillie. The next few seconds happened in a literal flash. Lightning filled the cave as thunder roared outside again, causing both Lillie and the Kartana to scream and screech in fright. Lillie, in her panic, had pulled out a Pokéball, thinking it to be Vulpix's or Bewear's Pokéball.

And then Lillie doubled over in pain, as a razor sharp feeling cut through her skin and dress on the left side of her body, below her ribcage. The Pokéball slipped from her hand, before activating. But it was too late for Lillie. She could feel her new wound quickly moistening from her own blood, as her dress began to stain red. Her vision going dark, she fell forwards with a thud on the cave floor.

She heard a multitude of things before darkness claimed her. First was the telltale ping of a Pokéball locking shut, as if capturing something.

And secondly: "I think it came from this cave...!"

And then everything went dark.

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 **A/N:** Please leave reviews, Story will be updated Tuesdays and Fridays! (And I promise to finish it this time, if you're following me)


	2. A Dangerous Lie

**Chapter 2: A Dangerous Lie**

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The next few hours passed in a literal blur for Lillie, as she drifted in and out of consciousness. People telling her she'd be fine, she was going to make it, before darkness claimed her again. The sounds of roaring engines, and howling winds. Flickering open her eyes only to be blinded by sterile white lights, and unfamiliar masked faces. Familiar voices calling her name. And back into darkness again.

It was a dreamless state, barring one sight she could constantly see. The sight of the Kartana floating above her fainted Clefairy. Oh Arceus, was Clefairy alright...? The Ultra Beast tense, and ready to strike, before it ripped forward through the air effortlessly, and... and it became blurry. Sharp pain. Darkness. And then the light at the end of the tunnel revealed itself.

Lillie's eyes fluttered open, adjusting once again to the usual white light. The ceiling above her, the room she was in, seemed very sterile. It reminded her of home almost, but, different. She noticed the sterile white sheets draped over her, and the intravenous needle lodged in the back of her pale white hands. They were no longer caked with dirt. It clicked now. She was in a hospital. She had lived.

And she wasn't alone. Sensing her daughter's movement, Lusamine looked up from the book she was reading as she sat at her daughter's bedside, eyes widening in realisation, before quickly but carefully moving over to embrace her kin. "Oh, Lillie! Thank Arceus you're alright! I'd feared the worst, sweetheart!"

"M... Mother...? How long..." she spoke, realising she was parched, before continuing. "Water..."

Lusamine got up, carefully placing the book aside, as she spoke again. "You were out of it for thirteen hours, dear. You've undergone surgery and the doctors saved your life. I want to know what happened, Lillie." the president said as she walked to the edge of the room to get some water for Lillie, who graciously accepted and drank.

"Things like these don't happen on their own, Lillie."

"I... It was-" Lillie spoke before being interrupted by Lusamine's phone. "Hello? Oh, Dulse. Yes. She's fine." Lusamine turned to her daughter. "I have to take this call dear, we'll talk later."

Lusamine briskly walked out of the room, her workaholic nature taking over as she continued to chat with the Recon Squad. Lillie smiled, it was what she expected now. But curiosity then crossed her mind, as she leaned over the side of the bed to her bag. Spotting three- no. Four Pokéballs. She only recalled having three. Vulpix, Bewear and Clefairy. She thought back to the events of the previous night, and the only sound that greeted her in her memory was the telltale sound of a 'Ding!' signalling a capture.

Is that what happened to the Kartana? Why they found nothing? Did she catch it? Why? The questions were too much for Lillie, and she quickly found herself drowsy, before she leaned back into the soft pillow and dozed off back into the dreamless sleep.

It was the same memory that greeted her again this time, however it was more vivid. She was recalling every last detail. How she found the Ultra Beast cowering behind the outcrop, the fear in it's posture as the ember attack seared it, it... It was scared. She had frightened it? Of course she did. It may have been an Ultra Beast, not from this world, but that didn't mean it was emotionless. Surely not.

Nebby was not from this world either, and yet the small Cosmog come Solgaleo which was now travelling with Sun as he flew over to Unova, cared deeply for her, and vice versa. Even Necrozma, the beast of the light, appeared desperate and upset. Everything had feelings. She knew that. Kartana did too.

Guilt washed over her memories and plunged it back into darkness. But this time she began to dream. Think about what she should do. Should she tell Mother the truth? Surely if she did, then the poor blade-like Pokémon would be even more terrified. The Ultra Recon Squad and Interpol would both be horning in on it. It was timid enough. She had to find an excuse for it.

But for now, it was time to wake up and face the music. She had assumed that it had been a few hours at least, as the light pouring in from the window was now a beautiful amber colour, and by her side she heard chattering again, as well as a new weight on her legs. Not only was Lusamine here again, but Hau had shown up too, obviously worried about his crush.

"Hey Hau, Mother." She spoke, gaining their attention. This also gained the attention of her Vulpix, who were curled up on her legs, and it carefully made its way over to her side to nuzzle her affectionately. Hau was the first to speak up "Oh, Lillie, I'm glad you're good! I brought you some malasadas to help you feel better!" He eagerly said, gesturing over to the paper wrapped goods on her bedside, with his usual grin on his face.

Lillie giggled and smiled as she lightly scratched the cool fur of her Vulpix behind her ear. "Thanks, Hau. It's good to see you too." she said as her face flushed a little. Lusamine smiled warmly, aware of the two children's attraction to each other, listening in on how Hau's latest title defence went against Plumeria, or which malasadas were the best. Mostly the latter.

But it soon became time for Hau to go, and Lillie was left with Lusamine again. "Lillie, are you ready to talk about what happened?" Lillie nodded and nervously gulped. "It, it was a Team Skull hooligan." she carefully spoke. Lusamine's eyes widened in shock, before pulling out her phone, furiously dialing a certain number, and before the voice on the other end could even finish saying "Yo, What up madam prez?", the president began to tear into the phone.

Lillie was tuning it out however. Did she really just pin the blame on a probably innocent trainer to save a dangerous Pokémon's life? Guilt washed up in her, but she was in too deep now. She had to stick with it.

* * *

Once again, the next few hours passed in a blur, having to put Vulpix away so she could have her dinner, and routine check-up, before she drifted off to sleep for the night. She was once again greeted by the same vivid memory of the incident, only this time, the Kartana didn't strike back. It merely floated there, still trembling in fear. " _Do Kartanas dream?"_ she thought to herself, as she walked forward in the dream. The Kartana was looking at her with what she assumed was a face, judging her movement.

Trembling slightly, she reached out to try and touch it, but before she could, a very large and familiar Golisopod did the Team Skull walk into the cave, and the dream fell apart. And then her eyes shot open.

The first thing she noticed was the same Golisopod in her dream rifling through her bags, gurgling as if looking for something, before it vanished into a red light, revealing Guzma, who walked up to Lillie and took a seat down by the bed, after putting away the gluttonous bug type's pokéball.

"Yo. I heard that some of my boys roughed ya up. Y'alright?" he started. Lillie nervously nodded, intimidated by the fact that Guzma had come to speak with her. "Y-yeah. I'll live." she meekly responded. Guzma grinned. "Just so ya know, I'm keepin' an eye out for the numbskull who dunnit, He's gonna get the beatdown when I find him." he maliciously grinned again. Lillie forced a smile. She respected Mister Guzma but he was too much sometimes.

Guzma promptly got up, muttering a brief "Stay safe, Kid" before stalking out of the hospital room. As far as she was aware, she was going to be discharged later.

And later couldn't come sooner. She had fallout to deal with, regarding her abrupt new team member. Lusamine had come to pick her up, and she returned to the foundation with her. She could sort this out in secrecy here. It was time to make amends.

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 **A/N:** Feel free to leave questions in reviews, i'll happily answer them.


	3. Sharp Introductions

**Chapter 3: Sharp Introductions**

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The Aether Foundation helicopter soared over the ocean as it neared the paradise, the modern safe-haven for Pokémon that lay in a sparkling blue sea. Lillie glanced down at her home nervously as the sun reflected off the glass of the conservatory. She usually came here by sea, but today was different.

"Now Lillie, I don't want you to stress yourself out with doing anything. I just want you to stay at home and relax for a bit?" her mother asked, as she sat across her in the helicopter. Lillie nodded, she had her own things to do here anyway, and hopefully without interruption. If she did get found out, well, she'd have to cross that bridge when she got to it.

The helicopter landed on the helipad at the side of the building, and as Lusamine stepped out, her long blonde hair blowing in the down draft from the rotors, she called for the intern to carry their things. Waiting for them to get back were Branch Manager Wicke, and Intern Faba, the latter of whom still adapting to his new rank after the Rainbow Rocket incident, all the whilse grumbling as he moved to pick up Lillie's pink backpack.

Her mother had suggested that she drop her Pokémon off at the conservatory, and that's what she did. Faba was off to deal with some manual labour asked of a senior employee, so she had her bag back, as she stepped onto the elevator to lead her up, Wicke alongside her to inform that all of her gifts received in the hospital were waiting for her in her room at the manor.

It was then that Lillie threw out all of her Pokéballs, releasing Vulpix, who happily bounded up to Lillie, Clefairy, who was happy to see that her trainer was alright, as well as vice versa. And finally the ground shook as Lillie was hauled up off the ground in a gentle bear hug by her Bewear. The large pink creature affectionately cooing at her. She had to give the bear Pokémon credit, as he was being unusually gentle.

It was then that Wicke noticed a fourth Pokéball in Lillie's hand. "Miss Lillie, I think you've forgotten one." she pointed out. Lillie's face went about sixty shades of red deeper, realising that she must have taken Kartana's Pokéball out by accident too, but luckily hadn't thrown it yet due to Bewear's intervention.

"Huh...? Oh, N-no, I... that's an empty Pokéball. I must of mixed it up!" she said, face flushing and sweating bullets. Wicke cautiously raised her eyebrows at the girl's attitude, noticing her red face, before dismissing it. "Maybe you should go and lie down." she suggested. Lillie nodded nervously, putting the Pokéball away with the empty ones, and waving goodbye to her Pokémon, before the two of them made their way to the manor house.

As soon as the door to her room had closed behind Lillie, she let out a sigh of relief she did not know she was holding. She looked around at her room to notice all the gifts had been laid out, but she was unable to focus on it. It was too close of a call and her nerves had yet to calm down. So she fished out Kartana's Pokéball, placed it on the foot of her bed, and made her way into the bathroom linked to her room. Maybe a cool shower would help her calm down.

As the door to the bathroom closed, the Pokéball shook. It had noticed that it hadn't been released out of the ball yet, and it was quite worried about the whole situation. The Kartana then burst from its ball, able to make out the distinct sound of running water, like a small waterfall, but also noticed it was alone in the room. It let out a quiet lonely noise, as it carefully began to float around the room, to look at the various trinkets and other objects on the shelves.

Its tiny eyes adjusted to look at all wrapped gifts, some of which were bigger than itself. Noticing the tags, it began to read them. Master Kartenvoy had taught it to understand the language of the humans, for when the strange blue people arrived. This label read "Lillie, I hope you get better soon, yeah! Go and Rest like a Snorlax, and you'll be back out there in no time to show your moves! -Professor Kukui"

Kartana wasn't sure what a Snorlax, or a Professor Kukui was, but it assumed the latter was quite upbeat. And Lillie? Was that the name of the girl who had captured it? It drifted away from the presents, noticing a few other names on the cards and gifts, to look at a picture frame. Pictured were four humans.

One was a slightly chubby man in a labcoat, and a cheery grin on his face, holding the hand of a smaller boy, in a vest and bowtie. The man also had his arm around a woman with flowing blonde hair, and a white and black dress with a blue crystal on it. The woman had her hands on the shoulder of a small girl, who looked an awful lot like-

The sound of the water cutting off broke Kartana out of its thoughts, followed by the sound of a bathroom door unlocking. It frantically flicked around, accidentally slicing the petals off a pink flower that sat in a pot as it did so, before effortlessly flowing underneath the bed, in an attempt to hide. Moments later it could make out bare feet walking around the bed, walking to where it was looking.

Lillie quickly got dressed into fresh clothing, but as she closed the drawer, she noticed something off. The Peony that she kept in a pot on her dresser had a large portion of its beautiful flower cut off. She wondered what could do such a thing, before she turned around and realised that the Pokéball she had left on her bed had opened. Panic had set in now, The Kartana had gotten out? It could be anywhere! It was so thin, it could easily have slipped underneath the door.

Lillie then began to search her room first, checking behind her bookshelf, dresser and bed. She did not find results until she peeked under the bed. As she adjusted her lights to the darkness, she noticed one thing, a familiar glint of metal. The two of them jumped back, Lillie stumbling backwards, and Kartana sliding out from underneath the bed, into the air, and floated away from Lillie, once again terrified.

The two of them stood, eyes locked, trying to stay as still as possible. Not wanting to frighten eachother into doing something they didn't want. The Kartana was partially relieved that it hadn't killed the girl from their last meeting in the cave, but it was still cautious about her intentions.

* * *

Meanwhile in the depths of the labs, Zossie was running up to Dulse, a device in her hand beeping frantically. "Dulse! I'm picking up high levels of Ultra Space radiation coming from the foundation itself! We need to look for it, it could be dangerous!" she exclaimed. Dulse nodded. "Is it the same radiation wavelength from the situation near Route 11?"

"Yes."

* * *

"I'm... I'm sorry for frightening you, I just... I, you frightened me, and..." Lillie said, attempting to reassure the ultra beast that she meant no harm. The Kartana just floated there, taking in the words and processing them in its tiny brain. It noticed the girl slowly inching closer and closer, still very wary of what she was doing. And then she reached out a hand.

The Kartana went deathly still as her fingers grazed the cool metal of its body, It let out a soft whistling noise of disapproval, which the girl had picked up on. Her hand carefully slid its way up one of its bladed arms. Lillie had a small smile growing on her face, the metal was smooth and well taked care of. Wherever this Ultra Beast had come from, it must have kept itself in high standard.

But as Lillie began to move away from the flat side of the blade and more onto the edge, she felt a sharp pain shoot from her finger. Pulling back instantly, she noticed a fine cut along the tip of her finger, yet she hadn't even applied pressure onto the beast. Was it really that sharp?

Kartana had flinched at the touch, noticing the girl's sudden pain, it carefully floated up to the girl, making sure she was alright. Lillie turned around and fumbled for a first aid kit in her room. Quickly applying a plaster to her finger, before the blood could drip and stain something. She turned around to be face to face with Kartana, intending on continuing to investigate the Ultra Beast, when a sharp knock on her door frightened it.

"Miss Lillie. It's Dulse. Can I come in?"

Lillie could feel her heart beating, she rushed for her Pokéball, scaring Kartana further and recalling it before it could damage things, it let out a frightened cry as it did so. Causing Dulse to knock on the door some more. Lillie briefly then collected herself. "Y-Yeah."

The door opened, revealing the man in the white uniform. But he had noticed the Ultra Space energy had dropped as soon as he entered, which was strange. "What happened to your finger?" he noted. Lillie flushed again, she had to make another excuse. "I... I caught it on something in the bathroom, It's, nothing too bad, really." She nervously spoke again.

Dulse however looked as if he remained unconvinced. Nonetheless, noticing no more energy, he backed off. But before he left completely, he stopped. "There's been increased Ultra Space energy in the paradise as of late. You wouldn't know something of this, would you?"

Lillie could feel her heart stopping. "N... No." Dulse was too close to finding out the truth and she did not like it. The Ultra Recon Squad member then left, making Lillie let go of another breath she didn't realise she was holding. She couldn't stay here much longer, not with Dulse on her tail about Kartana. Maybe she could convince her mother to let her go back out.

After all, she hadn't finished her trials on Ula'ula yet.


	4. A Blooming Bond

**Chapter 4: A Blooming Bond**

* * *

"Now Lillie, please be vary careful of the Team Skull thugs! I don't want to have a repeat of what happened in Malie. And I want you back as soon as you finish your grand trial with Officer Nanu!" Lusamine sternly told her daughter. "I'll be fine mother, Mister Guzma said he'd sort the issue out. Please, trust me." responded Lillie.

In a few days time, she was due to challenge Nanu for her Ula'ula grand trial, and she already had a game plan. After scraping by Acerola's trial and then going back for Sophocles, she'd received a few pointers from both about a supposed 'Secret' new Pokémon that the kahuna had. Luckily, Having two Pokémon that were already strong against dark types was a good omen for her. But considering her abrupt fourth, she just hoped that Bewear, Clefairy and Vulpix would be good enough. She had confidence in those three.

But as she stepped off the boat at the oasis south of Haina Desert, waving goodbye to her mother, she had plans. After a brief stop by to the Aether House, and a quite frightening Sharpedo ride, courtesy of Mister Grimsley, across the watery Route 16, which she was grateful for her iron grip on the Pokémon, as she wasn't a strong swimmer, she had made it to the Ula'ula Meadow.

Briefly looking around the secluded grove she had entered, only spotting a few Oricorio who were curious about her, she knew she was alone. Right, it was time to solve this situation with her new team member. Steeling herself, she cautiously threw out the Pokéball containing Kartana, and the Ultra Beast sprung out, still very nervous from their last encounter. The sudden change in atmosphere must have frightened it, because it had let out a fearful screech and soared into an unforunate tree, felling it instantly.

The Oricorio flew away in fear at the beast's power, and Lillie scrambled to helpfully calm the paper-like Pokémon. "Kartana, please, calm down! It's okay! You're safe here!" she yelled out to the timid beast, and it acknowledged her, because it had seemingly cooled off significantly, before floating curiously up to her. Lillie giggled, surprised at how easily she had calmed the beast down. She always did have an interesting gift for calming Pokémon. Gently rubbing the flat sides of its blade arms, carefully avoiding the sharp edges after learning her lesson, she began to speak again.

"I'd like you to meet my other team members, Kartana. Please don't be surprised, especially at Clefairy. They mean no harm, I promise!" she explained to Kartana, as it span in the air, seemingly interested about learning what a Clefairy was.

It was then that when the pink fairy type was released, the air became tense once again. Clefairy barked out an adorable but serious command at her trainer to get back from the beast, whilst Kartana began to shake, but threateningly waved its bladed arms around, ready to strike again if it had to. Lillie stepped in between the two. "Please, stop! Clefairy, Kartana is the newest member of our team, it means no harm, It was scared that time in the cave." she pleaded desperately with her Pokémon. The Clefairy frowned but it eventually agreed to stand down.

But it wasn't over yet, the Fairy Type strode up to the Ultra Beast, and the two seemingly had a stern talking, as they chattered at each other in their own forms of language. Most likely agreements and threats that sounded like 'If you hurt my master again, I will END you.' and apologies from the receiving ends of threats. Lillie took this opportunity to release Bewear and Vulpix and brief them on the situation. The Large Bear said nothing but simply stared over Lillie at Kartana, as if processing something in his head.

Vulpix however wasn't as convinced. She let out a concerned whine at her trainer, as if nervous about meeting the beast, pawing at Lillie for reassurance. Lillie smiled warmly and scooped the ice type into her arms, allowing her to watch from a safe distance whilst being near the safety of her trainer.

It was then that Bewear began to slowly stomp its way over to Kartana. Clefairy gave it a questioning look as it did so, and Kartana seemed to freeze up in fear. Bewear did not attack however, quite the opposite. The Normal Fighting type sat down with a thud and reached out to the Ultra Beast, slowly pulling it in for a gentle bear hug, much to the Kartana's shock. Lillie was also surprised at how her Pokémon was seemingly unfazed about the sharp edges of Kartana's arms.

Either way, being in the embrace of the bear Pokémon had calmed the beast down significantly, allowing Lillie and Vulpix to approach and sit down with the other Pokémon. She then spoke up to her entire team. "Everyone, meet Kartana. It's our newest member of the team, and don't treat it differently because it's an Ultra Beast. Nebby was an Ultra Beast too."

Clefairy perked up at the mention of Nebby. So that's why this beast had a similar feeling to that of the large Solgaleo that the Sun Man travelled with. At this point, Bewear had let go of the Ultra Beast, and it had floated down to the last member of the team it hadn't met. Vulpix.

The small fox Pokémon carefully sniffed the metal limbs on the creature, before cooing approvingly at it. Kartana whistled happily and carefully brushed its icy fur with the smooth sides of its arms. It was then which Lillie realised something. She pulled out her Pokédex, which wasn't a Rotom Dex due to the model of dex being rare, and began to scan Kartana, much to the Ultra Beast's surprise. It floated over to her strange machine, to see what it had to say.

"Kartana: The Drawn Sword Pokémon. Type: Grass and Steel. CAUTION: This Pokémon is an Ultra Beast, designation UB-04: BLADE. Exercise extreme caution." Lillie frowned at this, It wasn't dangerous, just misunderstood. "This Ultra Beast's body, which is as thin as paper, is like a sharpened sword. Although it's alien to this world and a danger here, it's apparently a common organism in the world where it normally lives."

Lillie looked at Kartana, who seemed slightly put out about the last part. "Kartana...? Do you miss your home?" The Ultra Beast glanced up at her. It let out a low metallic whine, but then danced around playfully, Vulpix joining in. Lillie mused that whilst it did miss home, It was enjoying its time with Lillie, despite the shaky start.

Lillie giggled and got up, and began to play with all of the Pokémon, excited that it all went off without a hitch. Sure enough, the local Oricorio had also come to play, dancing away with their dashing red feathers. Lillie had debated catching one, but decided against it.

And then came the telltale rumble from everyone's stomachs that it was lunch time. She cracked out the Pokébeans, much to all of the creatures delights, barring Kartana, who looked on at this treat. It floated up to it curiously, and gave Lillie an inquisitive look.

"Oh, Kartana, that's right, you've not tried a Pokébean before, have you? Here. Take this one, you'll like it!" she smiled at the beast as she held out a green coloured bean. The Kartana carefully bent its paper-like arms towards the bean, and wrapped around it, before taking a test nibble, and then another, and before she knew it, the bean was gone. Kartana ecstatically soared around the clearing, adoring the taste of the beans.

And then she noticed the time on her PokéGear. It was almost time to face Nanu! Although, she had a very good idea. Gathering up her team, Kartana included, as well as the Oricorio, she took a memory photo, a group picture of them all. She'd have to thank Gladion for the gifted PokéGear when he next swung by to visit. Sadly, it was time to leave the clearing now. Nanu wasn't the most patient of Kahuna's after all. Waving goodbye to the Oricorio and returning her Pokémon. She headed up north to the gloomy Route 17, where the Grand Trial awaited.

* * *

 **A/N:** Right, time for some answering of reviews.

Moonlight Butterfree: First of all, thanks for the wishing of good luck! It's much appreciated. Regarding the reasoning to why Kartana is there, no, it won't be revealed as part of the story. Might be good if I ever decide to rewrite this though. It is however there because of Necrozma's attack as seen in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, where Ultra Beasts are summoned throughout Alola. Our Kartana was an unwilling participant of this.

Allon: Thanks for the kind words!

Ri2: Kartana can indeed understand human language. In the later chapters, you'll find out why. If this were another Ultra Beast, sure, maybe it wouldn't be able understand (or fit in Lillie's Room), but Kartana is a special case.

Finally, something quite important I need to mention regarding reviews. Please keep them limited to the story. If you have concerns about other users reviewing, please put them in private messaging. I honestly don't mind the criticism, however 'flamey' you claim it to be, and if you have a problem with it, take it up with me in PMs.


	5. A Forced Hand

**Chapter 5: A Forced Hand**

* * *

Lillie walked up the gloomy Route 17, eyes fixed on the man leaning outside the Pokémon Center. It was time for her grand trial. "Officer Nanu!" she waved out, a nervous smile on her face. "Hm, Good. You're here, and in one piece too."

Nanu gestured Lillie to walk with him, taking her up the hills before speaking. "This is going to be a Four on Four battle." Lillie could feel her heart stop, she only had four Pokémon, and Kartana was not the kind of Pokémon she should be exposing to Nanu. "Uh, yeah. That's fine." she said, mostly to herself however, as she had faith in Clefairy and Bewear to deal some heavy damage.

"Right then, let's begin." Nanu spoke as he threw out a Sableye. Lillie throwing out Clefairy.

"Fake out." commanded the Kahuna, and the mischievous dark and ghost type slunk forward before faking out the Clefairy, causing it to flinch. Lillie frowned, Dark types were always known for playing dirty, but it didn't mean they weren't weak without them. She had to be careful.

"Shadow Ball!" "Dazzling Gleam!" the two trainers called out. The Shadow Ball was able to block most the super-effective fairy type attack, but exploded just short of hitting Clefairy, not even damaging it for the full amount, whereas the Dazzling Gleam was only able to catch the Sableye by its arms. Minimal damage taken on both sides. "Shadow Sneak, then Poison Jab!"

Lillie tried to command a dodge, but it was futile. The Shadow Sneak was faster, and Clefairy wasn't able to avoid the super effective poison type hits, and promptly fainted. Lillie returned her Pokémon with a sombre look on her face. "You did well, Clefairy."

Steeling herself, she threw out her next Pokémon. Her Vulpix appeared and let out a fierce cry, before unleashing a hail attack, courtesy of Lillie. The grim clouds above began to pelt the battlefield with icy particles, causing Sableye to shelter its head with its arms. "Enough fooling around, Sableye. Shadow Sneak and Poison Jab, again!" Lillie smirked.

"Vulpix, dodge, and when it springs up, hit it with your Ice Beam!" Vulpix then seemed to disappear entirely into the hail, much to Nanu's chagrin. Snow Cloak, of course. It was then from out of nowhere that a beam of icy energy soared through the hailstorm, and straight into the Sableye's back, causing icy mist to erupt out of the air. When it had cleared, Sableye was frozen solid, and appeared to have fainted inside the icy tomb.

Nanu returned his Sableye. "That's a shame. Oh well, time to use my secret weapon. Get ready, I guess." he said as he threw out... a Krookodile? Didn't everyone know he had one of these already?

"Okay then, Vulpix use Ice Beam-" but the Krookodile was forward in a flash. "Low Sweep!"

The Krookodile swung out its foot and tripped up Vulpix as her Ice Beam fired off, striking the ground type in the eye as she fell to the ground, not taking the super-effective move very well.

" _Krookodile isn't meant to be that fast, and it shook off that Ice Beam like nothing... Something's not right here."_ Lillie thought to herself, but it soon became clear. The Krookodile's form shimmered, revealing a Zoroark, which grinned mischievously. "Finish it with Foul Play."

The Zoroark then roared and lept onto the downed Vulpix, clawing wildly at the poor Pokémon who screamed in pain as it happened. When it was done, the Ice Type was down for the count. Lillie frowned again, returning it. She had two Pokémon down and Nanu only had one. The worry that she'd have to use Kartana was growing, but she still had Bewear.

"Bewear, please, bring this back for me!" she yelled as she threw out the large pink bear. He responded by roaring menacingly. Hail still fell on the battlefield, fazing the Zoroark more than the Bewear. "Now, use Hammer Arm!" she commanded, as the Pokémon ran forward, excitedly screaming. "Zoroark, counter with low-" but it was too late, as the Bewear had slammed its arm into Zoroark's face, knocking it clean out. Nanu smirked a little, it was actually pretty brutal to watch, but entertaining nonetheless. He returned his Zoroark and sent out the actual Krookodile.

"Right, make use of it's lowered speed, Krookodile. Use low sweep!" But it wasn't enough. Bewear was easily able to jump over Krookodile's low sweep, and hit back with another Hammer Arm attack. "Earthquake!"

The Ground trembled as Krookodile slammed its tail into the ground, causing Bewear to trip over and land on its back. "Now, use crunch, and finish it!" Krookodile lept onto the downed Bewear. "Bewear, block it with your arm!" commanded Lillie.

Bewear raised its arm and got it caught in the powerful jaws of Nanu's Krookodile. Screaming in rage and pain, it furiously used hammer arm, and with Krookodile latched firmly onto its arm, it would deal extra damage. Nanu's eyes widened as he'd realised that he'd been lured into a trap, underestimating the girl.

Krookodile's jaws unhitched from the arm, out cold from the high power attack. Nanu withdrew his Pokémon before sending out his ace, Persian. "Alright, Bewear, please use rest!" she commanded as the Bewear yawned and promptly laid back for a nap. "Not so fast, kid." Nanu spoke, a grin painting his features.

And then Lillie dreaded what she saw. Nanu's Z-Crystal was beginning to glow, as he and his Persian did the signature but awkward dark-type move.

" **BLACK HOLE ECLIPSE!** " he bellowed, as Persian shot off a sphere of dark energy. Moments later, it exploded in the air, pulling the ground around it, and Bewear, who was still snoring away, into the event horizon, before violently exploding, sending everything flying out again in a flurry of destruction. Bewear landed with a thud, clearly down for the count infront of Lillie, who withdrew him.

"Oh well. There's always next time..." she said to herself.

"Are you forfeiting, kid?" Nanu said, suspicious. "You've got one Pokémon left, and you haven't even given it a chance to try." Lillie could feel the judging gaze of the Kahuna.

"It... It's not ready." she meekly responded, trying to seem as small as possible. "You are the one who agreed to a four on four, don't waste my time!" Nanu commanded, anger beginning to take hold. "Or maybe you're just weak. You'll never get anywhere like this!"

Weak... There it was again. She was certain that she wasn't weak. She had befriended one of the strongest Pokémon, and one of the most dangerous. That was it, something snapped inside Lillie's head. The time for weakness was over. No more games, no more hiding. Her hand was forced.

"You will regret this, Officer." She said, sudden determination lining her features, that had sent a minor chill through Nanu. He had no idea that this girl was capable of being so intimidating.

"Kartana! Lend me your aid, please!" she said as she released the Ultra Beast. The shock on Nanu and his Persian's face was priceless. She had an Ultra Beast!? The Kartana materialized and spun around in the air, waving its blades around threateningly at its opponent.

"Kartana, I didn't want to have to use you for this fight, but please. Stay calm, and listen to me." she spoke to the beast. It understood, nodding its 'head' at Lillie. It must have been feeling its trainer's emotion, and had also been rather determined. Nanu had now broken out of his stupor.

"Persian! Dark Pulse, NOW!" he strictly commanded, but to no avail, as the Ultra Beast effortlessly slipped away from the attack on the wind. "Now, Kartana! Sacred Sword!" she commanded with renewed vigour, as the Ultra Beast shot towards the dark type, its bladed arms glowing with a immense power.

And then the two Pokémon collided in a cloud of dust. Kartana shot out, still in one piece, and Persian was down. After one attack. Nanu was shocked, his ace had been felled by an Ultra Beast in one hit.

"Kartana, you did it!" Lillie said as she ran up to the Ultra Beast, carefully hugging the usually timid beast. Nanu stood in shock, before returning his downed Persian and walking up to Lillie. A very suspicious glare on his face. "Where did you get that ultra beast, Kid?" he spoke, venom dripping from his voice.

All determination that Lillie had, drained away, Kartana seemed to share this feeling too, as its bladed arms visibly drooped. Lillie stuttered, she had revealed to the Kahuna that she had an Ultra Beast. Something she promised herself she wouldn't do, but had been caught up in the heat of battle.

"I... I... Please don't tell anyone..." She said, her eyes widening and desperately trying to pull an adorable pleading face to the older man. Nanu looked taken aback, and whilst he was slightly annoyed, his stone heart cracked a little, and sighed. "Fine. Your secret is safe with me kid, since you two seem to have a good bond. BUT, if anyone else finds out, I didn't know. Is that clear?" Lillie nodded vigorously, relieved that Nanu was probably weak to the pleading face due to Acerola.

"Good. Now take this, and go, before I change my mind." he said, depositing a Darkinium Z into Lillie's hand. "Th-thank you, Officer Nanu." she bowed as he walked away. She looked down at the Kartana in her arms. "That was close. We need to be careful now, Kartana." The Ultra Beast whistled in agreement.

Lillie swiftly returned her Pokémon, and began to make her way back down Route 17. She promised mother she'd be back as soon as the Grand Trial was done, but with how close she was to Dulse finding about about her new friend, she had to think of another excuse to get away from home for a while.

* * *

The Foundation came into sight from the boat as it bounced across the waves. His blonde hair that usually covered his green eyes, bouncing too. He had finally made it back to the Alola Region from Kanto, and he needed to see if his little sister was fine. Although he was certain that she would be, considering that she had started on the trials.


	6. The Painful Edge of Truth

**Chapter 6: The Painful Edge of Truth**

* * *

Gladion stepped off of the boat as it had docked at the harbour, it was good to be home. "Ah, Master Gladion. How are you?" spoke Wicke as she came to greet the blonde boy. "I'm fine, thanks, Miss Wicke. Is Lillie back yet?" he inquired.

Wicke stopped to think for a moment before nodding. "Yes. She's back, she got back earlier after clearing her Ula'Ula grand trial." Gladion was quite surprised to hear that his sister had gotten so far into the trial, and had suspected that she wouldn't be able to beat Nanu for some time. _"I guess I have to stop underestimating her."_

"Oh, if you're going to look for Lillie, do be mindful, she's been acting a little strange since she's gotten back." Wicke said as she left for a laboratory. _"Strange? That's not unlike her, I should check on her anyway."_

But before he could continue towards the manor house, where he'd assume she'd be, Silvally had sprung out of its Pokéball, and began to sniff the ground, seemingly following a trail of something, before the synthetic Pokémon looked up and let loose a mechanical growl, before running off. "Silvally, wait!" Gladion exclaimed as he took chase after the rowdy Pokémon.

* * *

Lillie was writing in her journal about the events that had happened, not really having a proper chance to considering what had gone on lately. She glanced to the photo in the forest she'd taken, with her and her team, Kartana included, and the Baile style Oricorio dancing around in the background. She'd cherish this memory, no matter what happened.

It was then in which her door crashed open, considering it wasn't shut, that her brother's signature Pokémon, Silvally, burst in, with a furious look on its face, it approached Lillie, growling. Lillie got up and slowly backed off. "Silvally? Wh-what are you doing? It's me, Lillie!" she cried, worried about the large chimaera-like Pokémon. Then the telltale sounds of footfalls as Gladion burst into the room.

"Silvally, stand down!" he said as he grabbed his Pokémon around its neck and wrangled it away from Lillie, before returning it to it's Pokéball. "Lillie, I'm sorry about that. Silvally's been acting strange ever since we got here..."

Lillie stumbled back to her desk, closing her diary behind her back so that her brother couldn't see the photo, before running forward and locking her brother into an adoring hug. "Gladion, I missed you." she said, grateful that he was back. "You too, Lillie. You had no idea how worried I was when mother called me, I was on the first boat back to Alola. What happened exactly?"

"It was Team Skull, Gladion." Gladion frowned at this. "B-but don't worry, Mister Guzma said he'd sort it out!" she frantically followed up with. Gladion was still not satisfied however. "I'm still going to have some choice words with him. He should've kept his team on a leash." he practically growled.

Lillie sweatdropped again, she didn't want this to escalate, and felt as if Gladion was going to press her with more questions. But her mother was her saving grace, as she had poked her head into the room. "Oh! Gladion, darling. You're back! I thought I heard you." she said as she moved to lightly ruffle Gladion's unkempt hair, much to the teen's discomfort.

"Come on, let's go and have some dinner, I had the intern pick up some take-out from Sushi High Roller." she spoke. The thought of Faba having to run simple errands like picking up take-out was amusing to Lillie.

* * *

Dinner was eaten in relative silence between the family, as they began to eat their various food sets. "Mother? I'm planning to visit Professor Burnet tomorrow." she said, as her mother looked up, nodding but not responding due to eating.

"Why's that, Lillie?" Gladion said as he looked up from his food. Lillie faltered under his gaze. "Uhm, it's been a while since we've spoken, and I didn't get the chance to thank her for her gift." she responded. Gladion's features sharpened. "And what of the PokéGear I got you? Where was that when you ended up in the hospital?"

"It, it was out of battery, Gladion. Things need time to charge." she tried to calmly respond. "Well then you should've been more careful then!" he fired back. "I didn't know it would attack, me... yeah? Alright?" she responded, faltering again. Gladion raised an eyebrow at the mention of 'it'. "It?" "I... I mean he, alright? It all happened so fast." "Enough, Both of you. I didn't order Sushi High Roller just to have an argument over it, children." Lusamine intervened.

"I'm not hungry anymore, Mother." said Lillie as she glared at Gladion and stormed off. The telltale sound of a door slamming shut gave away her location to the rest of the family.

"Mother? Has she always been acting like this? I thought she had changed with her resolution to be stronger. Her Z-Powered form, she called it?" Gladion asked. Lusamine sighed. "Yes, I must admit that it's true. But still, you didn't have any reason to provoke her like that, you know it was very stressful for her."

"I know, but it was for me too! I was left in the dark, I didn't know if my baby sister was dead or alive. I was regions away, a few days at least from finding out." Gladion countered.

Lusamine's heart fluttered a little at hearing Gladion call Lillie his 'Baby Sister', but continued nonetheless. "It's not always about you, Gladion. You should go and apologise. She was the one who was on the brink of death, after all." Gladion knew she was right. So after dinner, he had gotten up and made his way to Lillie's room. He could hear the girl talking to herself on the other side of the door, before knocking. "Lillie? It's Gladion, can I come in? Please?"

Lillie's heart stopped, she was talking about the situation to Kartana, seing as her other Pokémon were at the conservatory. She returned it as she responded, in an effort to mask the sound of a Pokéball recalling a Pokémon. "Uh, yeah... Sure, come in."

Gladion opened the door. "Were you talking to one of your Pokémon?" "N... No. No I wasn't. I just, look. It's a habit I picked up." Lillie had inwardly cursed. It didn't work. "Oh, alright then. Listen, I just wanted to apologise for how I acted at dinner. You have to understand that I was very concerned for you, Lillie. You're my little sister after all, and I love you." Gladion responded, a guilty look on his face.

"It's, fine. Look. I'm going to visit Burnet tomorrow as you probably heard." "Oh, can I come?" "N-No! I mean, no, it's sort of a private conversation." Gladion was taken aback. He was confident that his sister was hiding something now. "Alright. That's fine." he responded, a smile covering his face.

But in truth, he needed to get to the bottom of this. Something was bothering Lillie, and his brotherly instinct was screaming at him to find out what.


	7. A Clash of the Blade

**Chapter 7: Clash of the Blade**

* * *

The Charizard soared through the air as it followed the boat to Heahea City on Akala. Gladion was determined to find out why Lillie had been acting so strange, and had taken it upon himself to follow her. Noticing that the boat had docked, he ordered his Charizard to circle the air, hoping that Lillie wouldn't notice. Luckily she didn't, and as she entered the dimensional research facility, Gladion landed the Charizard outside, before returning it.

However, unless he wanted to be discovered, he'd have to wait outside. The possibility of using one of his Pokémon to peek in through the window was there, but considering he didn't have any that would blend in, it would be a huge giveaway. So, it seems like he'd have to wait, much to his displeasure. Oh well, at least it wasn't raining.

* * *

"Alola, Professor Burnet!" Lillie sang as she walked into the lab. "Lillie! It's good to see you've recovered well!" the kind professor responded, before embracing Lillie in a hug, grateful to know she was back on her feet. "So what brings you to the lab today?" she inquired.

"Oh, I heard from Sun that the Ultra Beasts had different worlds that they came from, I wanted to try and see if... if you had pictures of Nebby's home world?" she made up. Luckily the professor had bought it. "I'm not entirely sure we have pictures of such a world, but you're more than welcome to look."

Lillie smiled and moved over to one of the archives, scanning briefly through before finding research notes. A collaboration between Burnet and the Ultra Recon Squad regarding Ultra Beast worlds. She flicked through the contents, noticing many entries, including Kartana's, Curiosity got the better of her, as she began to read the entire document.

Nihilego's world was an interesting one. It was sinister yet beautiful at the same time, with the large jellyfish like Ultra Beasts floating around amidst a thick atmosphere, amongst crystalline plants that reminded her vaguely like coral and seaweed.

Buzzwole's world was peculiar to say the least. It appeared to be a jungle, much like the one where Mallow held her trials, except that there were a few trees which soared high above the canopy, trees that were... flexing? It was no wonder that the mosquito like Pokémon loved it, considering flexing was its favourite activity.

Pheromosa's world on the other hand was oddly barren, yet still had its charm, as the pearly desert contained many shimmering blue crystalline structures. Lillie had guess that every Pokémon has preference, as the cockroach seemed to admire its beauty.

Xurkitree's world was so far the most bizarre. It appeared to be in a constant state of thunderstorms, as the atmosphere there was grim, but light was provided by many significantly larger Xuriktree coiled around large cliffs and mountains. It was astonishing how big the obviously electric types could get.

Then came the world she was looking for. Kartana. It's world was eerily similar to that of Malie City, with Johtonian styled gardens, and to her surprise, humans. Maybe she'd have to take her own Kartana to the gardens once all of the air had been cleared. It might appreciate it.

She had lost interest fairly quickly after completing her original plan of finding out what Kartana's world looked like, and only briefly glanced over the other worlds. Celesteela's being a moon-like wasteland, with many craters and odd pipes sticking out of the ground. Guzzlord's being a very unsettling ruined city, with Guzzlord being seen eating something in the distance.

Blacephalon's world was also rather bizzare, with purple skies that lit up with fireworks constantly, and pavilions that reminded Lillie of the circus. Stakataka's world was similar to that of Xurkitree, only without the thunder and lighting. A Grim world which just appeared to be an endless fortress made up of countless Stakataka.

Finally, Poipole and Naganadel's world was quite human-like in appearance, hives nestled in crags amidst a sea of meadows and flowers. Lillie smiled, all of these worlds were home to these Pokémon, and they probably saw Alola as just as alien as any other.

Putting away the document, and now having a brief idea on what Kartana's homeworld looked like, she thanked Burnet and made her way out of the lab.

* * *

Gladion looked up from browsing his Pokédex out of boredom, noticing that Lillie had finally stepped out of the lab. He noticed his sister look around suspiciously before taking a path into the forests behind the lab. Gladion's eyes narrowed. There was nothing back there, was there? He followed her regardless.

Lillie was blissfully unaware that she was being watched, and walked into a secluded clearing, where she let all four of her Pokémon out, and brought out the PokéBeans. The four of them let out cries of excitement, their hunger settling in as Lillie giggled and began to feed them all.

The food had obviously attracted many wild Pokémon too, as she had plenty to go around. After the beans were gone, she'd sit back and watch all her Pokémon play, noticing Bewear scooping up some younger Stufful and hugging them, the pre-evolutions not minding the attention. Vulpix was playing chase with a pair of Lillipups whilst their Herdier mother looked on with a mother's eye.

Clefairy was apparently teaching some other Pokémon baby-doll eyes, because Lillie could see the Pokémon around her, some Eevees and a Lillipup or two, using the move quite poorly, but eventually getting the hang of it. But she noticed Kartana floating towards her. "What's wrong? You feeling left out?" she asked as the beast drooped slightly.

It seemed to let out a soft cry. "Do you miss home?" she asked, and the Kartana slowly spun around in the air. It did indeed look lonely. Lillie reached out to it in an effort to console it, by giving it a soft hug, however, she caught her finger on the sharp blade again, inflicting a small but mostly harmless cut on the side of her finger. She cried out in brief shock, startling some of the Pokémon.

But it was Gladion who heard it too, and the blonde teenager bolted through the woods towards the clearing, eyes widening in shock as he noticed the Kartana next to... Next to Lillie! He quickly called out Silvally. "Silvally, go! Use Multi-attack!" he commanded, as the Silvally's Water RKS System charged out a blue attack on its head, it sprung into action.

As soon as the Silvally burst from the forest, all of the Wild Pokémon fled in fear, Lillie noticed the Silvally heading towards Kartana, and without thinking, pushed it away in shock, whilst getting up and stumbling back herself to avoid the attack. She was caught in the arms of Gladion.

"Lillie, are you alright!?" he asked, frantically. Lillie merely struggled. "Gladion! What are you doing!?" before elbowing her brother in the chest. Gladion gasped in pain, getting Silvally's attention, before she ran behind Kartana. "Gladion! Stop this, Kartana isn't dangerous!"

"It's an Ultra Beast Lillie! It can't be trusted... It, It was the one which almost killed you too, isn't it!?" he roared before commanding Silvally. "Silvally, Crunch, go!"

"Bewear! Hammer Arm on Silvally!" she retaliated, as the large bear sprung up and ferociously screamed at the synthetic Pokémon, slamming it across the face with its large arm. Silvally grumbled in discomfort, the hammer arm not doing much, but managing to halt its attack nonetheless.

"I won't let you hurt it!" Lillie screamed at her brother. However he failed to see reason. "Lillie, stop being stupid, you're in danger! If you're going to protect it, then i'm going to deal with you too!" commanded Gladion, his protective instinct overriding all reason. "Now, Silvally, RKS System: Fire, and then use Multi-Attack on Lillie's Pokémon!"

Silvally's crest turned from a watery blue to a fiery orange, as it sprung forward, lethal intent in its eyes, all it took was one fell swing of its head, and Vulpix, Clefairy and Bewear all let out screams of pain and doubled over, all fainted. Kartana was the only one still up, despite taking the super-effective fire attack.

Lillie's features sharpened, she couldn't let Kartana take another hit like that, returning her downed Pokémon, she called out to Kartana. "Kartana, Use Psycho Cut on the side of Silvally's head!". The Ultra Beast's arms glowed a psychic pink, before in the blink of an eye, it flew at and promptily sheared the side of Silvally's head. Sparks flew from the RKS System inside Silvally, and its head crest faded back to a silver colour.

Gladion was shocked, that the Kartana would even listen to Lillie, but it was still dangerous nonetheless. Without the RKS system, Multi-attack would not function. "X-Scissor on that thing! Don't let it get a footing!" "Block it with Leaf Blade!"

Two green blades of energy, of different shades and energy collided, a dazzling explosion erupting between the two strange Pokémon as they clashed, knocking both of them back. Silvally seemed to be going strong, but Kartana wasn't looking too good. "Kartana, we have to stop Silvally, use Sacred Sword on its legs!"

The Ultra Beast flew out, spinning up with the telltale power of a fighting type move. But Gladion didn't respond. He just stood there, waiting for something. It was as if he was waiting for it to get close, and...

Lillie's eyes shot open. "Wait, Kartana! STOP!" but it was too late. "Silvally, Maximum power CRUSH CLAW!" he commanded with fury. Silvally's claw glowed with a sinister power, as it swatted the Ultra Beast away like a baseball. Kartana was sent spinning at the speed of sound through the forest, felling any tree unfortunate enough to have grown in its path. And then as soon as it began, the Kartana came to a skidding halt in the forest, out cold.

Gladion walked towards it with Silvally and gave one order. "Kill it."

But as Silvally began to charge up a crunch attack capable of dealing the killing blow, Lillie stepped in between it and her Kartana. "Gladion! Stop this madness, Kartana is my Pokémon! I've forgiven it! It was terrified when it attacked me, and it was my fault all of this happened!" she practically screamed at her brother.

Gladion stopped. "That doesn't make it any better, Lillie. You can't keep a dangerous Pokémon like that, you're not strong enough."

Lillie huffed, and stepped forward, before delivering a fierce slap to her brother's face. Gladion fell backwards, his cheek stinging red. "See reason, you thick idiot! Kartana and I cleared Nanu's Grand Trial just fine, we don't need you to tell us how to live our lives!" she screamed on the verge of tears, before throwing the Darkinium Z she received at Gladion. His eyes widened, his sister wasn't the little girl she was anymore. He had to accept that. "L-Lillie, wait..." he said, returning Silvally as she had turned around to tend to Kartana. "I'm sorry. I... I haven't been around to see you change."

Lillie looked guilty for slapping him all of a sudden, turning her head away in shame. Before holding back her tears and running to hug Gladion. "It's okay Brother... I know how protective you can get. I'm sorry too! I shouldn't have hit you. Just, please understand, that I caught Kartana, and I'm not getting rid of it."

The two of them hugged it out, as Kartana flew up, awake again, to notice the two of them hugging. "So, Nanu knows, huh?" he inquired. Lillie sheepishly nodded. "You know, they're still on the look out for a Team Skull Grunt." Lillie remembered the lie she had told back at the hospital. It was dangerously close to coming back to bite her, now that both Nanu and Gladion knew. "I... Hadn't thought about that, I just wanted to protect Kartana."

"We need to find Guzma then. Come on, i'll fly us to Po Town." Offered Gladion, as Lillie took her brother's hand as he called out Charizard. She returned Kartana as well.

* * *

Thoughts crossed Kartana's head as it watched the events unfold. Humans were weird, was all that it could think. Weird, but fascinating.


	8. To Clear a Name

**Chapter 8: To Clear a Name**

* * *

The rain lashed down upon the two siblings as they flew on the back of the Charizard towards Po Town. They had to find Guzma and call off the hunt before things got ugly. "Stay near me, Lillie." he said to his sister as they climbed off Gladion's Charizard. Po Town was still a dangerous place, despite most of Team Skull having vacated the run down town.

Gladion pushed open the gate to the town, without trouble, considering the lock was busted, and stepped inside with his sister to the confined town. There were still a few Team Skull members lurking around, sitting to the side, watching with an opportunistic eye. Gladion scowled, and called out Silvally, who dutifully stood beside the siblings.

Most of the members lost interest as soon as the intimidating synthetic Pokémon was called out, Lillie noticed. All but one. Sitting on the porch of the Shady House was a familiar looking woman with yellow and pink hair. Plumeria.

"Gladion." "Plumeria." The two Ex-Skull members looked at eachother and greeted.

"What's up, Dummy?" she said, a faint smile on her face. Lillie looked on confused. "I'm good, look, we need to see Guzma." Gladion inquired. "Boss's gone to tackle a trial. I dunno, one of the old ones." "Old ones...?"

"Oh! I know about those!" piped up Lillie, who had mostly been silent. "I read about them, There's a trial for every type here in Alola, although some of them are not as well known as the others." Plumeria and Gladion looked on, interested. "If I know Mister Guzma, he would've gone for the Bug Type trial. It's actually not too far from here." she spoke enthusiastically.

Plumeria smirked. "She's right you know, it's down in the Ula'ula Meadow."

"Well, come on then Lillie. Guzma's not patient." Gladion said, as Lillie briefly waved goodbye to Plumeria, and the two left Po Town, beginning to make their way down Route 17. Lillie noticed how Silvally was still out and walking, so she decided to let Kartana out too. Gladion was a little bit unnerved at the Ultra Beast, still in disbelief that she had even caught it.

Nontheless, The Kartana happily floated along as they made their way into the meadow, passing by Nanu's Station as he looked out to see the two siblings on their way. "Lillie, what did the book say about Totem Pokémon?" inquired Gladion as they entered the meadow.

Lillie thought for a moment, whilst Silvally watched Kartana move off to play with some Oricorio. "I think it was an Ariados." she said, noticing a few Spinarak scuttling through the flowers towards a concealed opening in the distance. The two siblings then began to tread their way through the red sea of flowers, trying not to stand on any unfortunate bugs. Upon making their way to the clearing, they could easily hear the sounds of battle inside.

"We should go, stay close, it's dark in here." Gladion commanded to his sister, as she, Silvally and Kartana made their way into the trial site, past the trial gate that was covered with plants. Gladion was right, it was dark, however there was a distinct light from the bottom of the webbed cavern, where two figures were fighting. The siblings eyes adjusted quickly however, and were able to slowly but surely make their way through the cave.

But they had come to a choice, the only safe way down to the next level was a choice between three webs they had to climb down. The tablet next to them read that it was survival of the fittest, so Gladion could only assume that they had to find the strongest web to climb down. Gladion chose. And chose poorly, because as soon as he put all of his weight onto the web, it snapped, causing him to fall. "Gladion!" screamed Lillie. Thankfully, Gladion responded. "I'm fine, Lillie. Although I'm stuck in a sticky web." he said sheepishly. Lillie sighed. "Kartana, go free brother, please." she said to the Ultra Beast, who happily whistled before slicing the teen free from the sticky webs with its razor blade arms.

"Thanks, I guess." Gladion said as he picked himself up off the floor, picking the web strands still stuck to him off his hoodie. Lillie then climbed down the correct webbing, having grabbed it beforehand and noticing it not move at all. "Come on, lets go, I wanna see Mister Guzma win." she said excitedly.

Silvally lept down from the ledge above, and let out a cautious whimper. Gladion sighed and returned him, knowing the Pokémon was probably too big for this trial. Then the siblings continued deeper into the trial cavern.

* * *

"Golisopod, beat that overgrown bug down with razor shell!" Guzma commanded his trusty Pokémon, as the lumbering isopod grumbled threateningly at the spider, before one of its shell plates extended into a blue glowing blade, and slashed at the Totem Ariados who let out a pained hiss, its orange totem aura flickering as it was hit.

The Ariados then promptly fainted, as Gladion and Lillie (And by Extension, Kartana as well) slid down a slope into the pit where the Totem awaited. Golispod let out a victorious cry, as Lillie approached. "Mister Guzma!"

Guzma turned around, after Golisopod made its way to the pedestal for the Z-Crystal. "Yo, Whatchu doin' here, Kids? And why dy'all have an Ultra Beast with ya?" he asked, more surprised than afraid.

Gladion then urged Lillie forward who suddenly looked nervous. "I... It's a long story, Mister Guzma." Guzma squatted down, ready to hear it. "Go on then. I got time." He said, as Golispod jumped in surprise first at the Ariados coming to and scuttling away, and then noticing the Kartana.

"It wasn't a Team Skull member who injured me, it was the Kartana there." Lillie said, gesturing over to the Beast who was playing with Golisopod, the isopod gurgling happily at it, "You see, I got lost one night whilst travelling, and had frightened it when it was hiding. It only attacked me because it was lost and confused. I lied to protect it." she explained. "I hope you'll forgive me for the trouble i've caused." she said, worried on how the Ex Skull Boss would respond.

Her response was uproarious laughter from the Bug Type trainer. "Kid, you've basically done what my numbskulls did on a daily basis. They'd lie, cheat and backstab to get their way and do basically anything back when we were the hardest gang around!" he bellowed on, before roughly patting Lillie on the back.

"Point is, I forgive ya, kid. You'd make a helluva Skull Gangsta if we were still around, Hah hah!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's fine and all, maybe we should go Lillie, We've got other people to own up to." Gladion intervened, not thrilled on the idea of Lillie being part of Team Skull. "Oh-ohkay! Bye Mister Guzma, come on Kartana!" she called out, flustered. Guzma waved back with a grin on his face before turning to Golisopod.

"Kid's alright, Buddy. I'll give her that. We gotta battle her sometime." Guzma spoke. Golisopod only gurgled lightly in response.


	9. The Blunted Blade

**Chapter 9: The Blunted Blade**

* * *

Kartana flew around the conservatory of Aether Paradise, racing the bird pokémon who lived there, humming happily as it went. It was being watched by Lillie, Gladion, Lusamine and the Ultra Recon Squad. There was still unease in the air as Lillie was in the middle of explaining her story to Lusamine.

"...and that's how I ended up with Kartana, mother. I'm sorry I kept it from you, but I really didn't want a repeat of Nebby!" she exclaimed. Lusamine pondered it all for a moment, and Lillie went deathly still, in anticipation of a vocal scolding. However such a thing never came. Instead, Lusamine sighed with a small smile on her face.

"Lillie, dear, you care for the strangest things indeed. First Cosmog, then that beast, Necrozma. And now this? Honestly, i'm surprised at your gift for befriending them." she said. Zossie, who had been mostly quiet, decided to pipe up. "Of course! It must be the reason for why we were detecting Ultra Space energy in the foundation lately!"

Kartana briefly drooped in the air, however nobody noticed, it shook the strange feeling off, before drifting down to see the strange blonde man who was tapping on his wrist constantly. Lillie noticed this and ran off. "Oh, Hello Miss Lillie. All is well I assume?" he said, glancing in her direction. Lillie nodded, before gently stroking the Kartana's smooth blades. She noticed however that the blades were not as sharp as usual.

Quickly dismissing it, she returned to the man infront of her. "I must say, I am curious on how its ability works. Beast Boost was it?" he inquired, pulling up a picture from when there was a Blacephalon going wild on Poni Island, gesturing towards the strange red aura surrounding it.

"Hey, wait a second, Kartana didn't have the aura when I encountered it." she mused, looking at the Ultra Beast, who gazed back with its alien face. The Beast let off a cry before looping into the air again. Maybe it was too scared to use its aura that night? Or maybe it wasn't feeling well. It certainly wouldn't be out of the picture, considering it was technically an alien.

And then Kartana fell from the sky with a clang as it hit the metal walkway. Lillie screamed in surprise, as the others rushed over to see what the commotion was. "What happened?" commanded Dulse.

"Kartana collapsed, please, help!" she frantically exclaimed. What worried her the most was the fact that there appeared to be no impact left behind by the blades hitting the floor. What was happening to her new otherworldly friend?

* * *

"Kartana's fine, for now." Zossie explained to Lillie as the two of them stood outside the lab, looking inside through the observation window as Dulse seemed to be working to stabilize the Ultra Beast. Dulse looked towards the window for a moment, before walking to the door and urging Lillie inside. "It's stable. Don't worry."

Lillie walked over to the examination table, where Kartana was laying flat, but she could hear the sound of breathing from its unusual mouth, calming her nerves. The Ultra Beast had a few wires attached to it, most likely to monitor its vitals. "What happened?" she inquired.

"Lillie, have you noticed how Kartana's blades are blunter than usual, and its usual metallic shine has become dull?" he gestured towards the Pokémon. He was right, Lillie rubbed her thumb across the usually sharp edge of Kartana's blade, noticing that it did not even leave a mark on her thumb. Was it really that bad? She nodded in response to Dulse's question.

"This will explain it then." he said, moving over to pick up a datapad, showing a picture of the Ultra Forest, before zooming in on a picture of the bamboo-like plants. "These plants excrete a metallic chemical into the air in its home world, called Kartathanol. Dulse pulled up a complicated chemical structure of what she assumed was the Kartathanol.

"It's like vitamin for them, They absorb it through the yellow blades on their shoulders, it helps reinforce their paper-like body to be as strong as steel, as opposed to paper." the squad member continued to explain. "Eventually it will lose its appetite, and will no longer be able to eat, it's vitals begin to shut down due to lack of nourishment, and it will die." Lillie paled at this. Kartana was... dying?

She held back tears. "W-Wha... Can we stop it from dying?" she asked. "You won't like it, but the only way to stop it, is to take Kartana home. And leave him there. Constant exposure to the Kartathanol should be enough to make up for its deficiency."

Lillie's expression dropped. Part of her knew that this wasn't meant to last. How would everyone else react to the fact she had such an alien Pokémon? She sniffled a little, before moving over to the table to hug Kartana. "I suspect you're planning on taking it back then?" Dulse questioned. Lillie nodded.

"Zossie?" he called out to his partner. "Contact Captain Phyco, we're gonna need help on this one." "Roger that!" she responded. Dulse turned back to the grieving trainer. "Kartana's stabilized, but don't try using it in battle, that will accelerate the deterioration. You've got to take it to the Altar of the Sunne, our associate Soliera will meet you there." he explained to Lillie.

Lillie returned Kartana, and sombrely walked out of the lab. She had to prepare for a long journey to the Altar again, and this time she wouldn't have Sun watching her back. Maybe she could ask Gladion.

* * *

"I can't Lillie, I've got to go back to Kanto. I still haven't claimed my eighth badge." he told his sister. "Oh, alright Gladion. Please come back soon though. We miss you when you're gone." she said. Gladion smiled and ruffled his sister's hair, before reaching into his pocket, and pulling something out. "Listen, the Trial you have to go through to get to the altar is no pushover." he spoke. "But, brother, I have no Pokémon who can use this!" she exclaimed, looking at the gift, before putting away into a sidepocket of her backpack. Gladion simply grinned. "Trust me, you do."

Gladion then stepped onto the boat, and as it sailed off into the distance, the two siblings waved goodbye to eachother.

Lillie sighed, she truly would be alone, just her and her Pokémon on this last leg of her journey. She stepped onto her boat, and it left the foundation, sailing for Seafolk village.

* * *

The waves calmly splashed against the shores of Poni Island as Lillie disembarked at the Seafolk Village. She had to prepare herself for a long trek through the Vast Poni Canyon, for many battles, and even that dreaded Trial that would be her final hurdle before the altar. Ducking quickly into the Pokémon Centre to stock up on supplies and to heal her Pokémon, Kartana included, she stepped out onto the sandy shores of the island.

It was time for her to begin her last adventure with Kartana, and she intended to enjoy every moment of it, before their time together ends. Preparing herself mentally, she began to take steps into the canyon ahead.


	10. Slicing Showdown

**Chapter 10: Slicing Showdown**

* * *

Lillie wearily made her way through the canyon, she had been travelling for several hours now, and it was obvious she didn't know the path as well as she thought she had. Vulpix and Clefairy were down and out, and she had no revives left. Bewear was also on his last legs too, and she really did not want to have to use Kartana, considering its current condition.

Looking ahead in the midday sunshine, she noticed the trial gates ahead. Groaning internally, as she had forgotten that the trial existed momentarily, she paused for a brief moment, calling out Bewear. The normal and fighting type Pokémon squeaked at her curiously, slowly making his way over her, before Lillie spoke. "Bewear, this may sting a little, but I need you in top shape for this." she said. Bewear nodded, before gritting its teeth.

As Lillie pulled out the hyper potion, she began to spray it on Bewear's wounds. The bear let out a muffled scream as it continued to grit its teeth, but the burning sensation ultimately passed, as it smiled before hugging his trainer. Lillie giggled, and when she was let go, returned the Bear instantly, and made her way into the chasm which housed the trial.

Her footsteps echoes in the trial site as she entered, feeling the familiar gaze of being watched that she had months ago when she and Sun had navigated the very same canyon to rescue Mother and Guzma. It was then where the Jangmo-o sprung out of a nook, hissing at her threateningly. Bewear was thrown out quickly, and with a single Hammer Arm attack, the Dragon was down.

Bewear looked at his trainer inquisitively, curious as to why he hadn't been recalled yet. The answer came apparent as he followed Lillie into the chasm further, when a Hakamo-o had attacked, this time roaring, and entering a fighting stance. Bewear started out with a Hammer Arm attack, but the Hakamo-o remained standing this time, and retaliated with a Sky Uppercut attack.

Bewear stumbled backwards and landed on its backside when the attack hit, before running forward and screaming, before socking the Dragon and Fighting attack across the face with a Payback attack, the Hakamo-o not surviving this one. Bewear winced, having taken some damage, he looked back to Lillie, who came forward with only a fresh water left. "Here, take this. You're going to need your strength for the totem." she explained, and the Bear gladly took the bottle and chugged it, feeling revitalized.

When the Bear passed the empty bottle back to Lillie who placed it back inside her bag, the two of them began to walk forward towards the pedestal that held the Z-Crystal. She knew what was coming, and as she moved towards it, she examined her Z-Ring, which contained the Fightinium Z. And then she called out into the canyon. "Totem! I challenge you!".

The Large Kommo-o obliged, and leapt from the top of the canyon, landing infront of the pedestal with a huge thud, and let out a challenging roar. Lillie shielded her eyes from the dust kicked up before commanding Bewear into battle. "Bewear, start this with Hammer Arm!"

Bewear screeched before bolting forward and swinging its arm, aimed at Kommo-o's face. The Dragon type stared the pink bear down, before grappling the arm with a dragon claw, snarling at Bewear. The Normal Fighting type faltered a little, but steeled itself, and was ready to strike- "Bewear, watch out!" she cried.

Bewear hadn't noticed it coming though, and a sharp pain to the gut caused him to be flung backwards. The Kommo-o had used Drain Punch. Bewear doubled down in pain. "Bewear, use rest, and then sleep talk!" Lillie called. Bewear yawned, before promptly falling asleep, but then springing up again to throw a flurry of punches at the totem. Payback.

The Totem quickly socked the Bear with a thunder punch attack, but the bear seemed unfazed, much like itself when the Payback attack hit. It was going to be a stubborn one to defeat. Kommo-o let out a commanding roar, and the telltale sound of fluttering wings had indicated that a Scizor had jumped into the fray.

"Bewear, sleep talk, again!" Lillie cried out. However, the bear continued to snooze, this time without responding. Lillie frowned and growled a little, frustrated at the drawback of Sleep Talk. Taking a moment, she observed the current fight. The Scizor waved its claws around, raising some form of shimmering barrier around the Totem. Reflect. This wasn't going to be good. The Totem roared, before running forward with a Poison Jab attack, intending to strike Bewear.

It was then that Bewear's eyes shot open, and raised a Hammer Arm to block the attack. Lillie noted the Scizor beginning to do a ritual dance, Swords Dance! Lillie had to take that Scizor out and fast, otherwise her adventure may end abruptly. "Bewear, Hammer Arm that Scizor! And hurry!" Bewear screamed and charged forth. But Lillie noticed him stumble, and the telltale signs of Poison taking hold on her Pokémon.

Despite this, the pink bear had slammed into the Scizor with full force, before it could respond. Sending the Bug and Steel type flying into the canyon wall, out cold. "Good, now rest, before the poison takes hold!" she commanded to her bear. Bewear began to doze off again, the poison clearing up due to the overriding sleep effect.

"Alright, now use sleep- Oh no!" she was interrupted, as Kommo-o ran forward with Dragon Claw, intending to stop the Bewear from healing. She had to act fast. Taking stance, she began to use the signature pose for All Out Pummeling. "Bewear, our bond empowers us, take-" but before the Bear could rouse itself for the Z-move, the Dragon Claw surged with power, and struck Bewear, who screamed in pain as he flew across the cavern, landing with a series of rolls, and ending knocked out.

The Colour drained from Lillie's face. She had lost, and now she had to turn back. Returning Bewear, she turned to leave, but as she turned around, the Kommo-o growled at her. It had noticed the final Pokéball. Lillie spun back around, throwing out Kartana, who at the moment seemed alright, despite the looming threat to its health. The Ultra Beast hummed in anticipation, ready to fight. "Alright then Kartana, we have to do this! We have to get you home! Start out with Sacred Sword!" she called out.

The Kommo-o stood its ground, eager to see what this alien challenger had to offer. The fighting type energy had struck the totem across its raised arm for defence. "Now, Leaf Blade!" Kommo-o snorted as the grass type energy hardly tickled its hardened scales as the attack hit. "Smart Strike, uppercut it!"

Kommo-o's eyes opened, it hadn't anticipated the move that would never miss. The Totem desperately tried to block, but Kartana easily slipped around the raised arms, and struck the dragon type upwards into its jaw. The Totem roared in pain, before slapping away Kartana with a dragon claw and leaping onto it with a drain punch.

"KARTANA, NO!" Lillie practically screamed as the dust settled, Kommo-o stood with a smug look on its face, as Kartana was down. It twitched, the Kommo-o all but laughing as it mocked the Ultra Beast's attempts to get up. Surely this would be futile, Lillie thought to herself. There was nothing she could do.

But then she remembered.

* * *

"Listen, the Trial you have to go through to get to the altar is no pushover." Gladion spoke. "But, brother, I have no Pokémon who can use this!" she exclaimed, looking at the gift. It glistened in the neon white light of Aether Paradise.

She could remember Gladion's grin. "Trust me. You do."

" _That's right, I do have a Pokémon, and a move that can use it!"_ she remembered. Recalling the clash she had with Gladion back on Akala. "Kartana! Use Psycho Cut on the side of Silvally's head!" she had called out in the battle.

And she remembered the precision, the strike taking out Silvally's RKS System. And then she snapped back to reality.

* * *

Lillie's features sharpened, she reached into the side pocket of her backpack, pulling out the gift she had received, she looked into the glistening magenta sheen it possessed, its peculiar sigil embedded within its crystalline case. A Psychium Z.

She quickly switched out the Z-Crystals on her Z-ring, and began to assume the pose. "Kartana!" she called out, echoing along the canyon, Kommo-o looking up at the girl who's wrist now glowed with a powerful psychic energy. Kartana picked itself up, a steeled look on its features, and a yellow aura flickered to life around it. Kommo-o readied itself.

Lillie placed a finger, one from each hand, on her forehead, before thrusting out her left palm, visible links energy dancing between her and Kartana.

"Now, Kartana!" she boomed, as Kartana began to spin rapidly in the air, like a sawblade, as a Psycho Cut attack evolved into something more.

" **SHATTERED PSYCHE!"**

The immediate area became distorted, as Kartana ripped forward, a screeching humming noise as it collided with the Totem, shearing through its reflect with ease. Kommo-o lost its footing in reality and drifted off into the distortion. But Kartana wasn't finished. The Ultra Beast arced around for another strike, followed up by another, and then finally, with full power blazing, crashed into Kommo-o with a force so powerful, the totem was broken through the walls of reality itself, losing itself in the void of nothingness.

And then everything turned to white.

* * *

 **A/N:** No Pun intended when Kartana got up with a steeled look on its features.


	11. Home

**Chapter 11: Home**

Lillie opened her eyes, gazing at the strange location she was in. It looked like the inside of a wormhole, almost. But through the edges, she could see flashes of lightning. She appeared in an familiar looking forest, with Kartana and men in johtonian rice hats, adorned with odd ornaments, running around. It was chaos, the ground trembled, the trees fell, the bamboo shook, and wormholes were bursting out of the ground, swallowing the environment.

Lillie gasped in shock, as she noticed a very familiar Kartana screeching in distress, desperately attempting to escape the event horizon of a wormhole. "NO!" she screamed out, reaching out, but her feet would not move. Why was she seeing this? Was this because of the bond required to perform a Z-Move?

The Kartana let out a pained shriek as it was finally pulled into the Wormhole, before it re-appeared infront of her. "Kartana!" is what she tried to scream, but found herself silenced. The Kartana looked afraid, like that night, and then Lillie flinched as Kartana shot forward, but no pain came, only another white blinding light.

She awoke to the blue sky and familiar canyon walls of the Trial Site. The smell of fresh air, but no noise. She pulled herself up, glancing around. There were the signs of battle, courtesy of scuff and struggle marks in the dusty ground beneath her. But there was no Totem, no Kartana. Only a pedestal with a still glinting royal blue Z-crystal resting upon it. Lillie pondered for a moment. Did she beat the trial?

She dusted off her dress as she got up, carefully padding her way towards the pedestal and taking the crystal, looking around. She could feel no threatening gaze, but swore she was being watched anyhow. But this didn't explain where Kartana is.

However, Lillie did not have to wait much longer. A familiar white and blue spacesuit walked into the canyon ahead of her, Kartana in tow. "Ah, there you are. Is this one yours?" she inquired in an alien voice. Lillie nodded. "Uh, yeah... Are you the one that Dulse sent me to meet?" Lillie had inquired. The being nodded. "Yes, My name's Soliera. I was waiting at the altar ahead, and your lovely Kartana shot straight up the stairs, screeching as if wanting help. I humoured it." she smiled.

Kartana squeaked excitedly as it returned to its trainer, happily swirling around, now that Lillie was alright. "I'm sorry for fainting on you, Kartana. I think the Z-Move was too much for me to handle." she sheepishly spoke, scratching the back of the head and giggling, prompting an upbeat squeak from the ultra beast. Soliera then walked over.

"Come on, daylight's burning, I can't leave Lunala alone up there." she explained, hoping to lead the young trainer along. Lillie obliged and followed Soliera out of the trial site, without looking back. It was then the two people began a long trek up the hundreds of stairs that made up the Altar of the Sunne. The wind blew strongly, prompting Lillie to gently hold onto Kartana so that it wouldn't be blown away.

It wasn't long before they reached the top of the Altar, and Lillie instantly noticed the Lunala roosting on the edge of the dais. Soliera approached, gaining the Legendary Pokémon's attention, who turned a red eye towards the Ultra Recon Squad member and strutted over to her, as she rifled through a carrier bag. Producing a spare Recon Squad suit, she turned to Lillie. "Put this on, You're gonna need it where we're going."

Lillie noticed the suit was the perfect size, how did Soliera know? She turned, but was answered instantly. "Oh, don't worry, I know what you're thinking. Madam Lusamine helped us. I asked Dulse what size suit we needed, he asked your mother. Don't be alarmed!" she explained, before turning back to ensuring Lunala was ready.

Lillie made her way over to Soliera and Lunala, with Kartana in tow. She returned the ultra beast to its ball, before climbing onto the back of Lunala, with Soliera infront. "Hold on tight, Lillie! If you fall off here, there's no telling where you might end up!" explained the squad member.

Lunala flapped her wings, before letting loose a spectral screech, and blasting open a wormhole, before diving in. Lillie's vision turned to white as this happened, before fading and revealing that the two of them were now hurtling through an extraterrestrial wormhole. Lillie's eyes dazzled in wonder as countless more wormholes of different colours soared past, each providing a glimpse into the world contained behind it.

Lillie could even swear she saw some familiar Pokémon behind these portals, spotting a lombre, and then a magcargo, and even a strangely coloured drapion, that was red rather than purple. However she was snapped out of the curiosity by Soliera. "Hold on, we're going to have to take a sharp turn here!" she called.

Lunala banked to a sharp left, before crashing into a orb of golden energy, which flowed through its body as it consumed the orb. Lillie could feel the Pokémon surge forward through the wormhole, as the strange crystals outside the strange walls of the wormhole sped by quicker and quicker, before soaring around a corner. "Lunala, look out!" screamed Soliera, as she desperately tried to pull up.

However, Lunala was going to fast, and with a pained shriek, the blue orb of negative energy grazed the legendary's underside, causing both riders to scream. Lillie had reckoned if she hadn't had a helmet on, her hair would be standing up on end due to the charge. Soliera seemed to be glancing ahead, trying to find something amidst the sea of wormholes.

However, Lillie noticed something before she did. There was a field of more of the electric orbs ahead, dense enough that Lunala would not make it. "Soliera!" she called out, before pointing ahead. Soliera then saw what she was looking for. "I see, Hold on tight then, we're taking a shortcut!" she yelled, before pulling Lunala into a sharp right turn, right into a white wormhole.

Lillie closed her eyes as the blinding white light began to intensify, and screamed in fear. However, when Lunala shot out through the other side of the wormhole, the atmosphere of the wormhole had turned into a large jungle, with flexing trees. They were in buzzwole's homeworld. Lunala ducked up and over the branches of the strange trees, spotting two of the large mosquito pokémon having a flex-off atop the tree. "Hold on tight, Lillie. We're going to be going down here!"

"Huh?" was Lillie's only response, before the Lunala dropped altitude again, flying right down to the canopy below, grazing atop the roof of the dense jungle. Ahead was a volcano, given away by the plumes of smoke rising from its summit. There was an opening in the side however, that of which Lunala flew into. Sharp stalactites shot past overhead, as the winding tunnel opened into a large cave, complete with pools of lava. "Hey hold on a minute, I thought there were only buzzwole here?" Lillie inquired, gesturing to the families of slugma and magcargo that had gathered around the pools.

Soliera didn't turn around to respond, instead speaking whilst looking ahead as Lunala continued to navigate through the treacherous cave. "Buzzwole gains its energy from sucking the energy from other Pokémon with its proboscis. It cannot do that to slugma or magcargo, because it would be like drinking magma!" she explained, as Lunala suddenly swung around a corner. Ahead was another wormhole. "Over there!"

Within moments, the two of them were back into the wormhole again, although this time there were far more orbs of negative energy, rather than positive energy. "Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!" she warned Lillie.

It's true, Lunala may have been able to dodge many, but she was grazed by a few of the orbs, causing Lillie to close her eyes in fear as the energy surged through them all, and slowed Lunala down considerably. But it didn't matter much. "We're almost there. There's our target!" Soliera pointed out to another white wormhole, but this time there was something different behind it. Lunala banked to the right as the wormhole came closer, and soon enough, was within its gravitational pull.

And with a final flash of white, the wormhole faded into a familiar but alien world. Lunara slowly came to a halt and landed on the patterned sand of the zen garden-like area, Already Lillie looked up in wonder as a few kartana of varying sizes and sharpness flew overhead, some racing, others sparring. Lillie then began to take off the Recon Suit, as per Soliera's guidance, and brought out her own Kartana.

The ultra beast twitched briefly, before noting the familiar environment, and letting out a very high pitched squeak of joy, before twirling around and up to its fellow kartana. Lillie smiled warmly at this display of excitement at finally being home. She didn't notice the white robed man in a rice hat walk up to you.

"Ah, stranger from a distant land, you are?" he said, in an unusual accent. It had sounded Johtonian. Lillie glanced back down to the man. "Oh! Hello. Yes... I uh, I'm not from here. Miss Soliera helped." Lillie explained as she gestured back to the recon squad member, who had stepped forward and bowed in greeting to the man. He returned the gesture.

"I see you have brought back young kartana to us, little one. Great turmoil passed through, weeks ago." he said as he gestured up to the group of five or so kartana, one of them hers, dancing around playfully. "Good care you have taken of it."

Lillie smiled. "It was no easy task. I think it's grown on me too!" she happily exclaimed, recalling times with Kartana. Soliera frowned at this. "No easy task indeed. Kartana take dedication to raise. You are strong of will to have accomplished this." the Kartenvoy smiled. However his face quickly turned to a frown. "However, it is not ready to leave this place. I sense great illness within this one. Ripped from this world before it was ready."

Lillie looked up. "Kartana was just a child?" she inquired. Soliera then stepped forward. "It would seem so. Lillie, as much as I hate to see the bond between you and Kartana broken, you're going to have to release it."

Lillie pondered this for a moment. Sure, she had known this time was coming, but now of all times? Kartana drifted down to her, looking at her eyes as they began to well up, telltale signs of tears prickling at the edges. It let out a reassuring squeak at her, prompting her to run forward and hug it carefully again, tears now flowing freely down her face, but not making a sound.

"Kartana. I know our time together was short, but, we had some good times, yes? I've never felt more brave in my entire life before I met you, you've helped me just as much as I've helped you. We've learned together, had fun together, and its these moments that I will never forget."

Lillie reached into her pack, and pulled out the photo of the two of them at Ula'ula meadow. She handed it to Kartana, who daintily cradled the photo with its bladed arms, careful not to cut it up. "I will never forget you either. I love you Kartana, but this is where you belong." she smiled through the tears. The Kartenvoy behind Kartana nodded, before quietly speaking. "Great courage flows from you, young one."

The two friends broke their hug, before Soliera urged Lillie back towards Lunala. "Come on, Lillie. We should get going, this isn't our place to stay." Lillie nodded tearfully, wiping them away with her forearm and sniffling. As Lillie put on her recon suit again, the two of them climbed onto the back of Lunala, who flew down from its roost, and took off into the leafy skies of the forest.

Kartana cooed sadly, as it watched its trainer and friend leave, but it thought quickly, before soaring off to a rock, and set to work. It slashed, and cut, and sheared at the rock, and when the dust settled, it squealed in delight, and called out to Lillie. The girl in question turned as Lunala flew through the skies. She noticed the dust settle around the stone, and spotted Kartana's piece of art. It was a statue that held the likeness of Lillie, carved with love.

Lillie's heart thumped against her chest as she saw this, aching that she could not return home with her Kartana, but nonetheless called out to her friend. "Goodbye Kartana! I will never forget you!" her voice carried through the air before she vanished into a wormhole. She was gone.

Lillie looked sadly back forward at Soliera. She pondered what would happen next. As the area shifted and morphed back into the wormhole's usual surroundings, one thought was clear. She would miss her new friend greatly.

"You know, Lillie. You could always come back and visit. Nothing's stopping you from leaving your world, after all." Soliera spoke softly from the front of Lunala.

Thoughts bloomed in her head as she considered this information. They would see each other again, that was for sure, a smile crept across her face, as she realised that this was most certainly not the end of their story together.

She would return, someday. But for now, it was time to go home. It was funny though, how in a quick flash of the blade, that more than one life would change forever.

 _ **The End**_


End file.
